Finishing Industry Consumer
The article would discuss about the importance of finishing techniques such as gloss, embossing, hot foil stamping and laminations in the packaging industry, especially the folding carton industry. It would provide information about the traditionally used finishing techniques as well as the innovations in the finishing technology. The details about the finishing technologies under consideration would cover the major end-use sectors, how these technologies are used to improve aesthetic values of packages (with examples of folding cartons), etc. The article would also cover the future outlook of the industry.
The Global Finishing Industry
To capture the consumer's attention, manufacturers and brand marketers consider image of the product and visual appeal as one the most important features of a successful package. Since first impressions are always considered very important in gaining customer attention. This is achieved through successful application of different finishing technologies such as gloss, embossing, foil stamping and laminations to the packages of different substrates. Further, in this highly competitive marketplace there exists greater demand on product differentiation, making the design and graphics of packaging even more critical for product promotion. In this regard paperboard packaging offers a versatile platform for finishers to create special effects with clay coatings, barrier coatings, ultraviolet coatings, laminations, embossing, debossing, foil stamping, pearlescence, metalizing, and fluorescent inks and holograms and present outstanding finishing to the final packages. In fact paperboard's receptive surfaces - smooth, hard surface ideally suited for vivid inks and coatings, strong construction that accepts attention-grabbing embossing without cracks or breaks, polished finish that melds with foils and holograms for vibrancy and depth - allow for finishers to effectively craft differ processes.
The global finishing industry is largely fragmented and unorganised.
Use of Finishing Processes in the Packaging Industry
Foil stamping
Providing elegant and exciting visual effects to product packaging-foil stamping is the only finishing process capable of applying a non-tarnishing metallic foil print to not only paper but also plastic or paperboard, hence making it a popular process. Foil stamping is used to enhance logos, lettering in product names or slogans which helps in attracting the consumer's attraction. Besides the traditional silver and gold foil stamping which are readily available in the market nowadays foils are also available in matte and gloss finishes, in a wide range of colors and patterns including geometric, holographic, brushed metal, pearlescent, rainbow, wood grain, and imitation leather which have helped to give the packages a variety of finishing touches. The reproduction of graphics such as logos, polished metal, or highlighted spot areas requiring a high quality reflective image can be successfully achieved by using foil films rather than metallic inks as metallic inks provide a subdued appearance. Thus finishers find it increasingly valuable to use foil stamping to decorate the packages as it enhances the shelf appeal of the product.
Its ability to provide security to the packaged goods-tampering and counterfeiting-has also helped the process to be increasingly used by the packaging convertors. Some foil stamped tamper-evident labels are made which tear apart when touched and can't be replaced on the package. Also anti-counterfeiting holograms are used so that packages can't be duplicated by counterfeiters as their dynamic effects are difficult to duplicate. The effect of foil stamping accentuates most packaging designs. The package is the first and last thing the consumer sees or experiences when it comes to new product selection. Companies like General Mills and Kellogg's have taken this advantage of packaging to promote their product. In order to promote their product they have provided shelf pop through improved graphics, enhanced overlaquers and coatings as well as the addition of packaging enhancements like hot foil stamping and holograms on the package.
Holograms, another foil product provides an alternative to standard foil colours. It is a 2 or 3-dimensional image developed photographically with the use of lasers as the light source and special optics to create the graphics or photo images. The image is first transferred to special foil film ready to be stamped onto a selected material. Thus, with the use of various kinds of foil, you can achieve amazing designs and prints, in various colors and dimensions, and on a varied variety of substrate material too.
Embossing
Conveying elegance and quality for the packaging product generally, embossing is the process most often employed to attract attention or convey a high quality textural contrast to the packaging design in relation to the surrounding area of the stock. Thus, most tangible of all enhancements, embossing lends distinction and depth to paperboard packaging. In fact it is the process used to create a three-dimensional design in paper and other ductile materials. This is achieved by applying heat and pressure on a metal die and a matching counter die. When the substrate is pressed between the heated die and the counter die the desired image is pressed into it creating the raised image. Most types of paper and boards can be embossed and there are no restrictions on size. When the same process creates an indented image, it is called debossing. There are also certain special applications within embossing which can further emphasise its effect such as Gloss Emboss - method of combining a clear foil with blind embossing which results in a high gloss embossed image and Textured Emboss-where textured effects such as pebble, wood-grain and raindrops are used to give a tactile quality to the package.
To highlight packages embossing is generally used to create logos or accents surrounding logos, borders or highlights surrounding images, elegant accents for distinctive symbols, images, graphic etc. Manufacturers tend to apply embossing techniques to the packages as embossed images not only catch the eye they also make you want to reach out and touch them.
Ball packaging Europe has used the embossing technology to give their product, a beer can (Bavaria 8.6. Red), an unmistakable appearance. They have used the technology in an innovative way which makes the area immediately surrounding the design detail much flatter. They have also applied a transparent vanish to the can which accentuates the embossing and the light reflexes generated on the embossed surfaces clearly define the three-dimensional nature of the design.
Embossing when combined with foil stamping is known as combination stamping. Dramatic and rich in appearance, combination work is often used in expensive packaging for high end consumer products.
Lamination
A laminate is a material constructed by uniting two or more layers of material together. Lamination is used in the packaging world for a variety of purpose. Lamination adds luster or gloss to a printed product, provides stability to the packaging sheet allowing it to be more durable and makes the packages waterproof and tamperproof. Moreover, cartons made of paper and paperboard can be used for storing liquid food items such as milk juice etc by fabricating paperboard with laminates foil and polyethylene. Thus by laminating films, aluminum foil or polymer coatings with paperboard, moisture or oxygen barrier can be enhanced or aroma barriers added/created. Also it provides barriers to harsh chemicals, carbon dioxide, or other product degraders. In this regard a carton producer has developed a nylon barrier coating for juice containers. This eliminates the need for an aluminum foil barrier layer while better facilitating the recycling of barrier juice cartons.
Jack Daniels (a renowned brand for whisky) had devised a promotional package by making use of a F-Flute carton with a scored, rigid PVC (plastic) window. The striking graphics outlaid on the promotional package are made possible by laminating printed paper to the fluted carton. By using a scored rigid film window, the window aperture can be opened significantly larger and the visibility of the product enhances. This approach to combining materials helped in achieving a superior promotion package.
Coating and finishing
Since the consumer associates the quality of the product with the quality of the package, it inadvertently looks at the surface finishes of the packaging which is brought about by different finishing technologies. As the coating forms the last layer of the package it helps in producing the desired effects. Coating helps in bringing about specific surface properties, including gloss level (high, satin or matte), rub resistance, chemical resistance, and barrier properties. On store shelves, this glossy appearance attracts consumers and protects the package from scuffs, fingerprints and excessive handling.
Extrusion coating is the plastic transformation process with which molten polymer is applied on a non plastic support (paper, aluminium..) in order to obtain a multi-material complex.
The main sectors for which the extrusion coating application represents major markets are food and non food packaging, and pharmaceutical packaging. However, this application is also used for the manufacturing of goods for the construction (insulation elements) and the photographic industry (paper).
Coating helps in enhancing the quality appearance of folding box significantly. Majority of folding cartons are coated with either a water-based or ultraviolet (UV) cured coating. Cured or dried through ultraviolet rays, UV coatings endow with a high quality clear finish with exceptional gloss, abrasion resistance and chemical resistance. In fact UV coatings are chosen for their gloss and chemical resistance. Thus eye appeal and special effects can be accomplished with ultraviolet coatings. Film overwraps that detract from color images can often be eliminated entirely by adding a UV coating and a top closure to the paperboard package. Because of its high gloss look that the UV coating provides it is often referred to as liquid lamination. UV coatings are also available in matte or surface receptive (low slip) finishes.
However, they are significantly more costly and difficult to use than water-based coating. Water-based coatings are used to provide a quick-drying, protective seal. Coatings also are used in flexographic- and gravure-printed cartons, mostly to impart critical surface properties.
Gloss is one property that is strongly influenced by the coating. Higher gloss often is preferred for greater customer appeal and gloss is often associated with a premium product. New manufacturing techniques now generate cartons with a glossier look for greater shelf presence.New high-gloss paper coating adds attention-getting shine for a high-quality look. Paperboard boxes colored and coated with a deluxe high gloss varnish finish for a sophisticated high end look. In this regard Glama Pak has created a finish process called Glama Glaze which creates stunning effects on packaging. Glama Glaze offers 5 colour print plus brilliant gloss highlights with locked in, mark free colour in a single process.
Finishers also experiment with a number of inks to add that extra sparkle to the design. While, pearlescent and metallic inks render a sophisticated effect that communicates quality fluorescent inks provide a visual jolt and energy level which is difficult to achieve with conventional inks. Fluorescent inks' semi-transparent nature permits overprinting, allowing achieving different color mixtures. The pigments in fluorescent inks are able to transform the energy from invisible ultraviolet light into visible light, emitting an intensely bright color which can be up to three times as bright as that found in normal inks. Fluorescents can only be used on white paperboard and offer the most impact when contrasted with darker colors. And because fluorescent pigments are not light-fast, they are best used on packaging which will not have an unusually long shelf life.
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